The Russellville Democrat. [volume] (Russellville, Ark.) 1875-1898, 1887-08-24
ITCH FOR NoToRlETY.


Hundreds of silly People.
TO those who are most frequently
brought in contact with persons who
yearn for some sort of notoriety the
extent of such yearning is astonishing.
more or less amusing, and sometimes
decidedly disgusting. When the alnbi-
ton to become famous IS born OF q
worthy object it is commendable, but
when it springs from morbid desire
to be noticed, just for the sake of per-
soual qualification, for the airing Of a
vanity and for pretense at appearing
more important than circumstances
should amply warrant. it is simply
sickening to those who are solicited to
become accessory to the fraud; itmakes
the public not only unsympathetic but
resentful when 1t succeeds. and doubt
less, it frequently pals on the appetite
of its possessor when its fullness has
been reached To aim for that sort Of
fame which almost inevitably follows
heroic action; the invention Of some
desirable thing which is to benefit the
world; the production of good work in
literature; the egolvement of a scheme,
measure or movement which is fraught
with benefit to the human race, or any
considerable proportion thereof or that
will ameliorate even the condition OF
the brute world, is admirable, but TO
ask applause for commonplace per-
formanees is the opposite. And yet the
latter is too frequently the basis OF dis
tiuction, built upon ceaseless importu-
mites for notice from the press and
the grasping at every Opportunity in
i that line of advertising. 1t is no more
/ ridiculous than man should consider
himself great because he can swallow
more raw eggs than other people than
that he should hope to build wide
spread and lasting fame upon the fact
4 that he can contain his stomach and q
! quail every day for thirty days.
A gentleman who is now famous as a
poet simply because he writes exquis-
ite poetry, not because he specially
sought fame through that or any other
channel, retired in disgust twenty years
ago from the editorship of newspaper
! which his father had made famous and
bequeathed to him, because, he said,
he was tired of helping to make SC
many great men out of such poor ma
terial.
There is not newspaper reporter in
the land of any experience who has
not been frequently solicited by men Of
apparent responsibility to notice in
the paper which he represents the fact
that this person is going to make a
cheap bid for notofiety, or that he i;
going to create a sensation by doing .
| commonplace thing in an odd way, Oh
that he contemplates notoriety through
! the performance of some clownisl
trick. or hopes for martyrdom through
the doing Of something in which tho
wefld is as little interested as it is il
the setting of a hen. Even people who
succeed, in a harmless sort Of way, il
creating a sensation do not frequently
succeed in becoming more than sever
days wonder, and usually less thar
that.
! If people who seek for this sert o.
ephemeral notoriety will only stick I
finger in n tub of water and ther
draw it out aud look for the hole they
| viii have q striking illustration o.
J about how much they amount to, ant
they will learn lesson which will give
them and great many other people /
much needed rest Chicago Inter Ocean